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There are times when you wonder if some sporting officials are on the planet, and not floundering somewhere in outer space in a world of their own.
Like the IOC banning Australian husband-and-wife shooters Russell and Lauryn Mark from rooming together in the London Olympic Games village because of a clash in bathroom facilities.
Like the AOC supporting the London Olympic selection of rogue swimmer Nick D’Arcy.
Like FIFA boss Sep Blatter taking six years to agree to electronic assistance in the goal-mouth, insisting there’s no racism in football, and endorsing the selection of postage stamp sized Qatar to host the 2022 World Cup.
Like the new A-League team – the Western Sydney Wanderers – wanting to deface and denigrate rugby league icon Ray Price’s statue when the Wanderers play home games at Parramatta Stadium.
And the same tunnel-visioned officials selecting an exact replica of the North Sydney Bears jersey that has been in existence since 1908.
Like selecting John Grant as chairman of the newly-formed Australian Rugby League Commission to run the code.
Like SANZAR adding Argentina to the Tri-Nations rugby tournament.
And like Wimbledon insisting all players wear predominately white clothing to sustain tradition at the home of tennis.
All bollocks, and only worthwhile mentioning because they are all so outrageously stupid decisions.
Russell and Lauryn roomed together at the last Commonwealth Games in Delhi, with no drama. It will be Russell’s sixth Olympics, Lauryn’s first, and hopefully that decision will be reversed sooner than later, with 10 buildings and more than 5,000 rooms available.
If sex is the problem, why have organisers made 150,000 free condoms readily available?
If there was a public referendum on D’Arcy there would be a 90-95% vote to rub D’Arcy right out of swimming for life for viciously assaulting compatriot swimmer Simon Cowley and avoiding paying a $135,000 fine by declaring himself bankrupt to dishonour his responsibility.
A cowardly cop out.
The 76-year-old Blatter is sport’s biggest and most dangerous joke, with his decision to support Qatar, one fifth the size of Tasmania, to host the World Cup.
Farcical.
The respectability and honesty of that decision will have a major question mark hanging over it for all time.
Football is the biggest sport in the world, but a poor fourth in Australia behind AFL, rugby league, and rugby, and always will be. It doesn’t need bad publicity like the Wanderers are generating, who haven’t kicked a ball in anger as yet.
Football saviour Frank Lowy should get on the phone and sort these tunnel-visioned Wanderers officials out before they do irraparable damage to the round ball code.
Football fans should always remember if it hadn’t been for the millions of dollars Lowy has sunk into the code, it would now be as spectator interesting as synchronised swimming.
John Grant is power hungry and wants to take hands on with every ARLC position. Forcing David Gallop out in the first year of a four-year contract as CEO was a bad decision, which will have serious repercussions.
So too adding Argentina to the Tri-Nations, Watch the burn-out factor rise alarmingly with all the extra travel on top of Super Rugby, and the June internationals, that include the Bledisloe Cup.
And while there’s nothing wrong with tradition, Wimbledon has gone too far with its all-white edict.
Ease up English, a bit of colour only brightens the atmosphere. Austerity can be suffocating.